HANNAH BROWN The Bachelorette Recap: You’re Full of Bologna (Season 15 Episode 8)

The Bachelorette Recap: You’re Full of Bologna (Season 15 Episode 8)

Jennifer Lind-Westbrook Recaps, The Bachelorette

On The Bachelorette Season 15 Episode 8, with the hometown visits looming, Hannah must make some tough choices on which men to keep and who to send home.

Hannah and her guys are in the Netherlands, and, as usual, Hannah is introspective as a new week begins. She gives the impression of a woman slowly getting beaten down by the process, and these soliloquies all sound alike. She’s over the drama, it’s time to open up, she’s ready to be swept off her feet and fall in love.

The only thing that changes is the location. Hannah wandering through a tulip field is a pretty dazzling visual. 

Every week is a make or break situation, but the stakes are particularly high because it’s almost time for Hannah to meet the parents. She admits she’s falling for multiple people in multiple ways which is “exciting” but “scary.”

Her first one-on-one date is with Jed, and the two explore Amsterdam together. More salacious stuff continues to come to light about Jed, so their interaction is hard to watch. 

They just happen to run into a couple who have been married for 54 years, and they tied the knot just 10 days after their initial meeting. What a coincidence?! 

While Jed has admitted to falling in love with Hannah, she’s been keeping tight-lipped. She knows she’s taking her time reciprocating, but she is protective of her heart and of who she’s going to marry. It’s difficult for her to keep her head in the game with one guy, when she’s thinking about another. 

Hannah’s trying to avoid falling into the Ben Higgins trap. She doesn’t know how much to say to these guys she’s developing feelings for. It’s not fair to lead a guy down the primrose path if there’s a chance he’s not going to be the last man standing. 

This won’t be another Cassie-Colton situation. Hannah’s going to agonize over this decision until the very end. 

The nighttime portion of the date follows the usual formula. They spend part of the time talking about how great the day was until it’s time to delve into where the relationship is heading. Hannah admits she’s developing feelings for other men aside from Jed (duh), and this whole experience is hard to handle.

But Jed doesn’t want Hannah to shoulder the burden alone. He wants to be there for her, so if that means he has to hear about the other guys, he’s all in. This would be really great if we didn’t know Jed is an opportunist, a cheater, and an all-around questionable character.

Hannah finally makes good on her promise to open up, and she confesses to Jed that she’s falling in love with him. She’s known it for a while. Jed responds “My heart just fell through the Earth,” and he insists Hannah give him a minute to bask in the glow of her big revelation. 

Needless to say, Jed gets a rose, and Hannah’s heading to Nashville. I wonder if Jed will come clean about his dirty dealings in Music City.

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Hannah’s next one-on-one is with Tyler C. I’ll admit that I haven’t been on board with Tyler C. since his intro package. He seemed a little too Magic Mike for my taste. But the women of Bachelor Nation are gaga over him, and even though he strikes me as not particularly bright, he’s not just a pretty face. The guy is a passionate philanthropist.

Tyler C. is really hoping this date goes well because he can’t wait to bring Hannah home to meet his Mama and his Nana. 

Tyler C. loves spending time with Hannah, but there date is kind of a nightmare for him. They ride horses which make him nervous, and he forces himself to choke down pickled herring to impress his girl and almost vomits. 

Tyler admits Riga was tough for him because he started questioning things and comparing himself to the other guys. Hannah pushes for details that Tyler either can’t or won’t articulate, and it’s easy to see this bothers her.

If Tyler holds back, then Hannah’s going to hold back. She wants to know what’s going on in his head and his heart.

Over dinner, Tyler admits he has trouble opening up because of his parents. Watching them go through a divorce made him not want to get into a relationship. 

Marriage is supposed to be for better or for worse, but when his dad lost everything because of the market crash, and his parents weren’t able to lean on each other. Tyler’s biggest fear is to fail at marriage. 

Even though Hannah’s parents are still together, she sees the cracks in their relationships. There are things she admires, but she’s also trying to figure out what she would do differently. 

I have only been watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for a few seasons, but I’ve don’t recall witnessing such a frank discussion about marriage and what comes after that final rose. These are two people who take the commitment seriously which does seem incongruous with being on a reality TV dating show which results in very few successful long term relationships.

Hannah appreciates their frank discussion, and she can’t wait to meet Tyler’s family, so he gets a rose. That’s two down.

The last one-on-one date goes to Mike, and Connor is really disappointed. They haven’t spent much time together since their less-than-ideal one-on-one. Connor doesn’t know if he can see bringing Hannah home to meet his family based of another group date.

He heads to Hannah’s hotel, and she’s friendly and happy to see him, but it’s not on the level of when Jed surprised her with a serenade. Connor admits he’s disappointed to not get a one-on-one, and Hannah admits Connor has just been fading into the crowd. 

Connor was really banking on this one-on-one, but it’s just too little, too late. Hannah just doesn’t see her and Connor together in the end, so the two say goodbye.

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Hannah has a cutesy date with Mike. They go bike riding, and then have their portrait painted by a local artist. But you just know Mike isn’t going to make the cut. Mike’s been very open and upfront with Hannah just like she’s asked, so his feelings aren’t in question.

It’s Hannah who isn’t sure she can go meet the really important women in Mike’s life, look them in the eye, and say with confidence how she feels about him. 

Talk about being on different pages. Mike arrives for dinner prepared to let Hannah know he wants her to be his wife, and Hannah’s bawling her eyes out because she’s about to break his heart. When you arrive for a date, and the other person is weeping, it’s never a good sign.

Mike takes it like a man, thanking Hannah for being honest. There’s a shot of the rose sitting by their untouched dinners. For Hannah, this is her hardest goodbye so far because Mike is just such a good guy. Hannah’s leaning on her faith, but I don’t think there’s a WWJD that works in this scenario.

Back at the hotel, it’s time for the focus to shift to Luke. He is excited about every suitcase that disappears because the rest of these guys are just in his way. The other guys are decent enough to have some empathy for Mike. 

Peter and Garrett warn Luke not to pull any of his usual crap during their group date. Garrett expects a Hail Mary from Luke, and the guy has a proven track record of throwing people under the bus. But Pete and Garrett are prepared this time.

Garrett’s got Luke’s number. Luke isn’t interested in falling in love with Hannah, all he wants to do is win The Bachelorette. Luke doesn’t disappoint and stays true to form when he pulls Hannah aside and immediately begins bashing the other guys.

Hannah continues to try and understand why all the other guys hate Luke so much, and he chalks it up to jealousy. Every moment he spends with Hannah takes time away from them, and they resent him for it. I don’t know if Luke believes the stuff he says, or he really is just a pathological liar.

It’s obvious what direction this group date is going, and we’ve seen it ad nauseum all season. Hannah is determined to figure out if all this drama is just boys being boys. If it walks like a d**k and talks like a d**k, then … 

Garrett goads Luke into a huge confrontation, hoping this will expose the Hulk that exists beneath Bruce Banner. Sadly, Hannah isn’t around to see Luke throw bologna in Garrett’s lap. Why are they eating bologna in Amsterdam?

Luke goes trolling for sympathy from Peter who brings up the very tiresome “stay in your lane” argument. Peter feels especially defeated because he hasn’t had any time with Hannah, and now she’s in a crappy headspace because of Luke. 

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Hannah rallies, and she and Peter are able to keep the Garrett-Luke nonsense out of their conversation. Peter does do a hard sell in an attempt to make sure he gets a rose. He doesn’t need to worry. Hannah views him as a nice break from the “mess” which is why he gets a rose. 

And then there were two. Welcome to the most awkward dinner ever. Instead of bashing Garrett, Luke decides to tell Hannah about his bad boys days when he was a drinkin’ and chasin’ the ladies, but he’s a reformed bad boy now. He finally plays the Jesus in the shower card which is something we’ve all been waiting for him to do.

All this testimony serves as a turn on because Hannah makes out with Luke — the only conceivable thing keeping him around is her physical attraction to him. He just knows Hannah is falling in love with him.

Garrett pushes all his chips in and tells Hannah he loves her. Not that he’s falling in love with her, but the bus has actually arrived at the station. He’s the first guy to drop the L-bomb.

There’s one rose and two guys, and Hannah has to go with her heart, and she gives it to Luke. I don’t think Hannah’s going with her heart, I think it’s another body part making this decision for her. Peter, Tyler, and Jed are more devastated by Garrett’s exit than Garrett.

Are we really going to get stuck with Luke until the very end? I may do some praying in the shower myself. 

What did you think of this episode of The Bachelorette? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.

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Jennifer has been working as a freelance writer for six years, contributing to BuddyTV, Screen Rant, TVRage, Hidden Remote, Gossip On This, and PopMatters. She prefers binge-watching old episodes of The Office (British and American versions) to long walks on the beach. She's still holding out hope that Happy Endings will get a revival.